NFL should abolish Thursday night games
When the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans jogged onto the grass at Heinz Field Thursday night for their key matchup, players and fans must have felt their teams had played only the day before.
That was nearly the case.
The Steelers and Titans had played their previous games on Sunday, each securing a tight victory. Now they were coming back four days later, tackling another opponent in their respective playoff quests. This is a difficult task, physically, emotionally and tactically, for National Football League players and coaches who are accustomed to competing every seven days.
Football is a brutal sport, especially at the highest level. Athletes need the better part of a week – at least – to recover from contusions, sprains and strains. A “short week” makes them susceptible to serious injuries and lackluster play. Football also is a science and coaches need a full week to strategize.
Thursday Night Football – proper name – precludes this from happening. For more than a decade, two teams have faced off on Thursday evenings during the season, on national TV, in the name of the almighty NFL dollar. The prime-time games started on the NFL-owned NFL Network, where they are still simulcast, but are shared on CBS and NBC in a two-year, $450 million contract those networks signed with the league before the 2016 season.
The bucks don’t stop there. Amazon paid another $50 million to stream 11 Thursday games this season. And, until 2015, the NFL was a nonprofit enterprise?
Professional football is a big business, and as such the NFL should strive to be as profitable as it can. Within reason. Player safety should be paramount, especially at a time when concussions and CTE are major concerns.
Yet the league, in recent years, has indicated it doesn’t consider the athletes’ well-being to be paramount. The NFL once denied evidence that concussions could lead to long-term brain damage. It also has been lobbying the players’ union to expand an already-grueling regular season from 16 to 18 games. Then there are the Thursday games, which are decidedly not player-friendly.
NFL TV ratings, in general, have been plummeting, partly because of the kneeling controversy. Thursday Night Football in particular has been criticized on many fronts. Many of the matchups lack appeal, a turnoff to TV viewers and fans who paid exorbitant ticket prices. For Eastern time zone viewers, the 13 games being shown this season start at 8:25 p.m. and end around midnight before a workday.
Some players have denounced Thursday football. Richard Sherman, Seattle’s all-pro cornerback, wrote a story titled “Why I Hate Thursday Night Football” on the Players Tribune website last year. He called it a “poopfest.” On Thursday last week, he ruptured an Achilles tendon, ending his season.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ripped Thursday Night Football on Pittsburgh radio station 93.7 “The Fan” this week, saying, “It’s miserable. It’s terrible. They need to get rid of this game, I think.” One of his protectors, offensive lineman Ramon Foster, said on that station that he usually doesn’t feel well until the Thursday or Friday after a Sunday game.
Football players are paid handsomely, but their bodies absorb a lot of pounding and their professional careers are relatively brief. Their window of financial opportunity is open only slightly. Playing two intense games in five days only increases the risks they face on every play.
We believe there is one Thursday when NFL games are fitting – the one coming up, Thanksgiving. Otherwise, Big Ben is correct. The NFL should abolish Thursday Night Football.